A search of your
local rough grassy places should give you a good chance
of seeing both of these species

Identification

The
photographs used have been compiled from photographs made
available to the Branch. Unfortunately, not all show the subtle
differences as clearly as we would wish and hopefully as the year
progresses new photographs can be substituted.

The late Charles
Smith's experiences in recording these two species should be of
help to all recorders. He has based his computerised drawings on
standard references books and his own personal experience of
recording skippers. However, he does point out that some of the
'differences' may be only local. Additional information
has been taken from Herts & Middx Branch Newsletter -
Issue 11 Sept '97 Small & Essex Skippers by John Murray. Records
are always welcome even if you are unable to tell them apart -
simply refer to them as Small/Essex Skipper!

1. The most
reliable method of identifying Small and Essex is to look below
the antennal tips. This area will be jet black on Essex Skipper,
and orange or brown on Small Skipper. However, care is needed
because a few will show very dark brown undertips, whilst others
have confusing amounts of black on top of their antennae.

2. The small
black streak on the upperside of the forewings of males known as
the scent line is much bolder in the Small Skipper and lies at a
slight angle to the front edge of the wing. The Essex Skipper has
a finer line, which is parallel to the front edge of the forewing
- unfortunately this only applies to males.

3. Generally
Essex Skippers are supposed to be a little smaller, but since
there is an overlap in size this is not a good way to tell them
apart.

4. The wings
of Essex Skipper appear squarer to some people, with more pointed
fore wings.

5. The Essex
Skipper has lighter, greener undersides to its hind wings.

6. In mixed
groups the Essex Skipper appears to be a brighter colour on top,
but Charles comments that this may be due to this species
emerging later and being fresher when compared

7. In the
Small Skipper, the triangular tip to the underside of the
forewing is a contrasting pale olive buff colour, whereas the
rest of the underwing is orange. In the Essex Skipper the
distinct olive buff tip of the forewing is more or less absent
with the whole underside of the wing being a rather uniform
orange. However, Charles points out that some Essex Skippers also
have a smaller area of dull brown along the edge of the wing!

The Large
Skipper is not dissimilar to the Essex and Small Skipper, but can
be easily identified - there is rarely any confusion between the
species, when the butterfly is not flying. The Large Skipper
usually appears ahead of Small and Essex although their flight
periods then overlap, and as the name suggests, it is visibly
larger. It is a bright orange brown in colour and the wings have
a lovely pattern of paler marks. The Large Skipper can behave in
a slightly different way to the Small and Essex, in that it is
more often found basking in the sun, taking a prominent position
on a bramble perhaps, and is prepared to stay still for longer!
The Large Skipper tends to stay closer to the edge of fields or
along a hedgeline, whereas the Small and Essex Skippers will just
as often be found out in the middle of a grassy field.

Large
Skipper Fact File

Flight Period

End of May to
August

Wingspan

35mm

Status in
Hertfordshire

Widespread but
usually in lower numbers than Small or Essex Skippers

Status in
Middlesex

Well distributed
but usually in lower numbers than Small or Essex Skippers

Generations per
year

One

Larval food
plant

Broad-leaved
grasses such as cocksfoot and the larger fescues

Favourite Nectar
plants

Many wild flowers,
but especially scabious, bramble and knapweed

Favourite
locations

A search of brambles and other low
vegetation along your local field edges and
sheltered hedgerows, adjacent to rough grassy places,
should eventually result in a
sighting